What kind of culture do we want in our homes and churches? Children are more likely to aspire to faithful Christianity when they see joyful service as a virtue modeled in the home. Children are more likely to repent and ask forgiveness when they’ve seen parents do so, and when they’ve experienced grace in human relationships. Nothing Lessshows that there’s power in faithful, Christian imitation. The Holy Spirit saves, not you.īut don’t underestimate the Spirit’s power to work through the environment you create for your home either. There is no perfect parenting formula, and as I mentioned above, no one should assume there’s a surefire formula or method to bring about the result of a faithful kid. Research shouldn’t be misused in a way that transforms children into blank slates. In other words, the more the repentant, joyful Christian life was modeled, the more likely children were to remain in the faith. It’s the culture of the family and church, and that they integrate children and young people into spiritual disciplines, not the how that matters most.Īlso notable is the impact of the parents’ example of reading Scripture, taking part in service projects, sharing their faith, and asking forgiveness after sinning. But the research study shows that these programs make an impact when they are connected to consistent habits of prayer, Bible reading, praise, and service. (Also noteworthy was the finding lower on the list, that listening primarily to secular music was an indicator that negatively affected one’s spiritual life.)įor decades now, many Christians have assumed that certain church programs are the key factors in a child’s spiritual development: Vacation Bible school, youth group activities, Sunday school, and so on. When we sing together as congregations and when we praise God on our own or sing songs that fortify our faith, we reinforce the beauty of our faith. Still, we shouldn’t dismiss the truth behind Augustine’s ancient observation that we sing the truth into our hearts. Christian contemporary music gets a bad rap these days, usually for being more inspirational than theological (although I believe this stereotype is not true across the board). What may surprise you is how high up on the list was this factor: listening primarily to Christian music. Down the list a little, church mission trips show up, another indicator of the power of active service. The habit of serving others in the church and community likely formed these young adults in a way that kept them from identifying merely as a churchgoing “consumer,” but instead as a contributor to the building up of God’s people. It wasn’t just that parents took their kids to church (where “professional clergy” could feed them spiritually), but that the children were included and integrated into the church through the avenue of service. Note that the church-related factor is about service, not just attendance. The practice of prayer did not specify whether it was private or corporate, before meals or before bedtime, or in the morning. Two more factors follow close behind: prayer and service in church. Bible reading is a constant reminder that we live as followers of God. The Bible lays out the great story of our world and helps us interpret our lives and make decisions within the framework of a biblical worldview. Children who regularly read the Bible while they were growing up were more likely to have a vibrant spiritual life once they became adults. The research (compiled now in the new book Nothing Less) indicated that children who remained faithful as young adults (identifying as a Christian, sharing their faith, remaining in church, reading the Bible, and so on) grew up in homes where certain practices were present. Everyone has ideas about what practices are formative on children. Perhaps you’d expect a Christian school kid to be more likely to follow Jesus than a public school kid. You might expect that family worship services would play a major part, or the simple habit of eating meals together around the table. What affected their moral and spiritual development? What factors stood out? The goal of the project was to discover what parenting practices were common in the families where young adults remained in the faith. A new LifeWay Research study commissioned by LifeWay Kids surveyed 2,000 Protestant and non-denominational churchgoers who attend church at least once a month and have adult children ages 18 to 30.
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